Sadly, the Mormon faith has become a place that incentivizes the survival of the least fit. Since strict obedience is demanded and harshly enforced, only the least talented, least articulate, least nuanced thinkers, least likely to take a stand against abuse, and the least courageous people thrive in the Church today.

Kate, Kate, Kate! Didn’t anyone ever teach you that some things that are true aren’t useful? But seriously, while it’s clear that the CoJCoL-dS rewards certain personality types (while pushing out others), Ms. Kelly could probably have discussed it a tad more diplomatically. Naturally the faithful hada field day.

In practice, women are praised yet subjegated as 2nd class citizens. Men are empowered leaders but always told they better get in line and follow. The constant power in the Trigamy is Jesus. He’s in charge at church, at home, and in the personal lives of both men and women–as an ever present partner spying and tallying up offenses on each.

I don’t know what it takes to make a person choose a religion over their spouse or their own child, but whatever it takes, Christianity has done it. Every time I see it happen, I think: That is some powerful juju right there. And it’s all approved by Jesus himself. It went to work early on in Christianity. Separation from family is a feature, not a bug.

8 thoughts on “Sunday in Outer Blogness: Spotlight on John and Kate edition!”

I assume you know by now that [removed by request of individual] has taken down his vitriolic entry about John Dehlin but I bet next week’s SiOB will have some interesting entries about his name change, sex offender conviction, doxing campaigns agains enemies real and imagined and general discredit as a human being.

I hope someone, however, will be able to find out if it’s true that he’s a pain LDS PR agent. And whether he’s responsible for Wikipedia taking down the entry about the CES letter.

@1 I saw some stuff about that on the Reddit. It’s unclear whether he’s really an LDS PR agent (but apparently really is a sex offender) — but then when he deleted all his vitriolic posts and went away, the Redditors decided to leave him alone.

@2 I need to take the time to listen to it. I’ve read a lot of interesting commentary about it.

@3 & @4 It looks like it’s still there to me, too. From what the newsroom says about Dehlin’s excommunication, I would guess that Brooks is in danger as well. I think it’s mostly just the fact that she’s been keeping a lower profile lately that’s saving her from discipline.

I’ve noticed that when someone has brought up the unevenness of disciplinary courts, as in behavior X may get you excommunicated in one stake but doesn’t even result in a court in another, the answer is that is a sure sign of the working of the Spirit, guiding the local leader on appropriate stance. It leads to lots of testimony bearing on the grandeur of priesthood authority coupled with the guidance of heaven. At the same time many of these same people already knew for certain that Kate and John should, without question, be excommunicated. No Spirit, no priesthood authority needed. Strange religion.